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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Sooooooo, I’m totally jacking this (or is it “jaking”?) from the Ladyfolk and Dyanne. At least partially. Desperate times call for desperate actions! That second, memorable line from the song totally gets the shaft, I’m sure, when it comes to headlining awesome blog entries like this! Nothing more but a passing “honorable mention” I would wager. Well not anymore! It’s your turn to shine Zip-A-Dee-Ay! Show them what you’ve got!

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Finally a post that won’t take me the entire day it’s due on, cutting it close to the Midnight mark. This is a post I’ve had semi-drafted up since about Day 3 of the challenge. I was blog hopping back then, exploring random, new blogs I’d never read before, and one individual was posting music videos. One of those videos featured the song her and her boyfriend/fiance/husband/I don’t freaking remember considered their song. I can’t recall what it was, but I offered up what I thought the Ladyfolk would consider our song. It was between two, but I myself consider this one to be said song:

Monday, April 28, 2014

I wonder how many people picked X-Men, X-Files, X-Ray, and/or X Marks The Spot. These were what came to me last year, as well as with the current challenge once “X” rolled around. Huh, I picked Xbox last year. Why the hell didn’t that even some to mind this time around? Anyhow, I thought, much akin to GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, I would share the trailer for an upcoming movie. One I’m actually excited for, despite my shunning the franchise after the third installment and those that followed thereafter.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

I honestly wasn’t sure if I’d fully recommit to this blog hop after my catch up post, especially during the A to Z Challenge. I’ve already witnessed a handful of people folding under the pressure of daily blogging (even with that Sunday break), and keeping up with other bloggers participating. They were fine soldiers. Each and every one of them. Their time, dedication, and ultimate sacrifice shall not go unnoticed.

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Jamin Winans is one of my favorite independent filmmakers. He has a handful of shorts under his belt, but so far only two full-length features. And I’ve only see one. This isn’t to say I haven’t tried to find his first film online. The movie I have seen, via Netflix, is Ink. Winans wrote the script and musical score to Ink, as well as directed and edited the film. I’m kind of surprised he didn’t act in it. Ink was produced by Double Edge Films, which is an independent production company created by Jamin and his wife. His wife was also heavily involved in making this movie become a reality.

I love when an artist is so involved in their work, as mentioned in Video Games. Here is one of the trailers:

Friday, April 25, 2014

After much deliberation, I thought I had finally decided what I would do for my “V” post. I was close. So close. But I chickened out. I was going to make a video to share, but I just didn’t feel completely comfortable with doing so. The Ten Things of Thankful crew would sometimes invite me to video chat. The Ladyfolk and I would be out and about exploring the city, which means usually eating. It was fun, but the invites became less frequent — and I began to lose interest — until eventually stopping altogether. I generally didn’t talk much, and I think I interfered with whatever conversations were actively being engaged, more than anything.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

This was a challenging letter for me. I tried thinking up a multitude of words. Unbreakable, Unwavering, Unbelievable, and Unfollowing to name a few. Unfollowing/Unfriending was my original intent, in order to discuss the process that led (leads) me to remove individuals from social media and sometimes even my blogger feed. Throughout the night I remained undecided, with both this topic and also where I wanted to buy my power drinks from — Target or the gas station.

I opted for something that randomly came to me while shopping. I had very little time to finish it before Midnight, so unfortunately I had to use the “Coming Soon” cheater post. I wrote until passing out last night, and completed it this morning. A bit different than the norm on The Cryton Chronicles, and I will likely post it on my other blog, but hopefully it does the trick. And hopefully you enjoy:

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

The Ten Things of Thankful (TToT). This is definitely an entry I should have started weeks ago, as I already knew what I planned to do. Granted, I should have just kept up with the rest of the pack, so this would have never been an issue to begin with. Sometimes I learn the hard way. Sometimes I’m just super lazy. Sometimes I’m thankful for both. Mostly I’m not. As it is, I’ve been out of touch since the TToT’s 25th post and they just wrapped up their 44th weekend.

So what’s all this Thankful business anyhow? If you aren’t familiar, I will allow the creator of the blog hop (which takes place every weekend — unless otherwise specified — so I’m breaking some the rules, but aren’t they meant to be every so often?) to explain it. She is a thousand times more prolific with the whole blogging gig than I, and I would hate to tarnish her event with my butchering tongue… or… fingers?

Click the badge below to smack link your brain with some Thankfulness knowledge:

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

I’m always conflicted when I proclaim I barely ever watch TV. It feels good to say, like I am somehow a better person for not being a slave to the Boob Tube (a phrase I assume originated based on intellect, but has since become anatomical). Technically I feel my statement is true. The only day I actually watch anything on TV is on Mondays while visiting my grandmother. We have our shows.

But I watch a ton of Netflix and Amazon Instant Video, catching up on various shows I’ve missed over the years, on my game system. Does that count a watching TV? What about when I use those services on my laptop? Does playing my game system, since it’s hooked up to the TV? What if listening to Spotify or a CD? Are you then always listening to the radio?! GAH! So many questions, so little time. Anyway, let’s get back on track...

Monday, April 21, 2014

Today I’d just like to go over some of the posts I’ve made during the 2014 A to Z Challenge. Whether missing them, or new to the blog, feel free to check them out at your leisure. If feeling even more generous, I won’t hold it against you if you decide to “like” or “+1” any and/or all of them. No judgements here… If feeling chatty, you are always welcome to strike up a comment or three, whether here or on the original post.

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Tonight the Ladyfolk and I just wrapped up Easter with my family. My mother is still having a traditional dinner tomorrow, as well, but this year was challenging for the entire family to make it. In fact, I believe only one of my siblings will be going tomorrow, while some of us others attended a more impromptu gathering today.

No ham was on the menu (that’s for tomorrow), only spaghetti. And mashed potatoes. Those were my idea! And an abundance of snacks and treats that could easily put a diabetic into a sugar-induced coma. Except for me, because I’m pretty awesome at eating all the sugary things and surviving somehow.

Friday, April 18, 2014

Earlier this evening I was visiting a blogger’s page I ran across during this A to Z Challenge. The name of the blog is A Bowl of Moonlight (awesome, right?!). Raquel has been writing, and drawing, all of her entries by hand. You should check her [blog] out! Now and again she references some prompts, and today’s mentioned one from The Right to Write, by Julia Cameron. There has also been mention of The Artist’s Way, which is technically the true credit for what opened me back up to writing after my block.

When she mentioned The Right to Write, I couldn’t help but feel like I had heard of it from somewhere before. It was so familiar and it kept bugging me. So, then I decided to check on something…

Thursday, April 17, 2014

We are just past the halfway mark for the 2014 A to Z Challenge and I, for one, am beginning to feel the burn. I started off strong, with posts being drafted up and scheduled a day early. I was energized and found some new blogs and hopped to familiar ones (though, maybe not as often during this challenge). The further we got into the event, the more difficult it became to keep up.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

I have spoken about NaNoWriMo many times in the past. NaNoWriMo 2012 was full of very important, emotional moments and essentially launched me back into writing again. I reached the 50k word goal, began blogging, and in the process met many new people. It was incredibly successful.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Scary Moments: You find yourself lost out in the woods and you’ve never watched an episode of Man Vs. Wild or Survivor. Your significant other is “late”... you know what I mean… Your significant other’s pregnancy test comes up positive.

Relieving Moments: Your significant other is “back on track”... You passed an important exam. You swerved just in time to miss a suicidal animal hurling itself across the road.

Happy Moments: Your favorite team just won another game. You found a 10$ bill on the ground. Shit… a 5$ bill. Hell... a 1$ bill. Who am I kidding? A fucken penny… Your significant other’s pregnancy test comes up positive (see, they can overlap).

Monday, April 14, 2014

Today a friend of mine is flying out to L.A. — in fact, he just landed — for a series of interviews with a human resource company. I wish I was out there with him. He asked me a handful of times, but I’m never one to just randomly have spare money for such impromptu luxuries. Especially when joining him on his flight would cost around 1500$. Technically, I did find an alternate flight, just two hours later, for 500$, but that isn’t including expenditures for two days and two nights in Los Angeles.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

I’ve always been a fan of Nirvana, but never a fanatical one. Some songs I really enjoy, others I could take it or leave it. Part of me wonders how long they would have lived on. Would they have died off over time like most? This documentary seems to claim that the band was already on the outs. I never followed along with this in the headlines at the time. I heard the various rumors and hypothesis throughout the years, but never looked into it beyond that.

If anything is certain, it’s that a talent was taken away too soon. Whether Nirvana — as a band — would have survived, had this tragedy not occurred, is inconsequential. Kurt Cobain would have continued on.

As for the movie? I think the trailer is really well done. I’m a sucker for true crime documentaries as it is. I’m looking forward to checking this out when it’s released.

Are you a Nirvana fan? How do you think the movie looks? Any thoughts or opinions on the topic of Kurt Cobain’s passing?

Friday, April 11, 2014

Just like last year, it doesn’t seem to matter what subject matter i have planned for which letters, it can all change on a whim. My “H” post was originally going to be quite solemn. There is that oft used moniker of EmoJak, and I have a reputation to uphold. That evening the Ladyfolk urged me to focus on a more upbeat topic. I compromised and went middle of the road.

Thursday, April 10, 2014

In my opening A to Z post this year, ABSENCE, I spoke about my hiatus from the Blogosphere. As I’m prone to repeat myself, I also mentioned it in yesterday’s entry, HESITATION MARKS, as well.

I had a clear plan for my grand exit from blogging. A post I had been waiting to get out for months. One that had morphed so many times that it may be hard for me to recollect it’s originally intended content. It fluxed from silly, to emotional, back to silly, and then to emotionally supercharged.

No worries, it’s still a work in progress. Possibly still pertaining to leaving in some fashion. Oh, I know, all this cryptic pussyfooting is so dramatic. I can hardly contain myself...

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

I’ve noticed in the miniscule time that I have been blogging that sometimes I get ideas for topics I feel a strong urge to talk about, but feel I lack the confidence of portraying said ideas accurately. That or they are controversial, and I want to refrain from pissing matches being engaged in the comments. I would hate if people, specifically blogger friends already connected with one another, came to hard feelings over these possible arguments.

On the other hand, if individuals aren’t able to be civil and respectful of one another’s thoughts and opinions, there isn’t a whole lot anyone can do about that. I shouldn’t (nor should you, as I’ve noted others speaking about similar hesitation over topics they wish to talk about) allow the behavior of others to dictate what it is I have the right to express.

Monday, April 7, 2014

We are technically reaching the end of week one of the A to Z Challenge 2014. Compared to last year, I haven’t had as much issue coming up with topics and getting them posted before the clock strikes Midnight. I think "F" is where I faltered and almost gave up blogging altogether last year. Yikes, rereading that I feel some of it is still pertinent to today. Let’s see how far I get this year before succumbing to an emotional breakdown, shall we?

Saturday, April 5, 2014

For the first time, in a long time, I actually went to see a movie at the theater in 3D. That movie was The LEGO Movie. The song above is basically it’s theme song. It’s awesome. Be careful, it’s pretty contagious. If you haven’t yet seen the movie, I highly recommend it. It’s a great film for kids and adults alike. Though, I do feel it leaned more heavily on the kids side, and avoided throwing in too much adult humor; at least in comparison to other animated films. But if you played with LEGOs when growing up (or still do…), or ever played and enjoyed any of the multitude of LEGO games available, then I feel this is definitely a movie for you.

Friday, April 4, 2014

Fate and Destiny. While generally interchangeable, one is divinely dictated, the other humanistically shapeable. But many times the two are intertwined; woven together by the fabric of Life. The subject of Fate and Destiny can be, has been, and — likely — forever to be argued about until the End of Times. Some people subscribe to the belief that our lives are completely predetermined. What we do, the choices we make, is already softly imprinted in our life-path’s DNA, so to speak. We are merely going through the motions. Others argue that belief takes away all notions of having free will/choice, making it null and void, and refuse to accept that as reality.

Whichever you believe, one’s Destiny is to be claimed. To be taken and triumphed and heralded. There comes a time when we all must make the choice to either reach out and embrace it, or cower and let it slip away. That moment exists for me, for you, for everyone.

Thursday, April 3, 2014

One would think that it would feel weird coming back to blogging after such a long hiatus. That hasn’t been the case for me… yet. I guess there’s the fact that it’s only been three to four months. That feels long to me, but some people return after more than a year — or longer — of not blogging. I’m not sure I’d be as unaffected being away that long as I am now.

I don’t feel it’s necessarily like riding a bike. Sometimes you have to completely rediscover your voice.

During my departure, I wasn’t completely negligent to the creative spark that yearns to be expressed, which writing allows me to accomplish. I’ve just been channeling it in different ways — I feel this helped my transition back into blogging, rather than had I remained stagnant — and I’d like to share one of them with you.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

For those familiar with The Cryton Chronicles, it’s no secret that I can be a bit… long-winded… at times. Those new to my blog, instead of pointing out specifics, I suggest a simple exploration of my past posts. The Jakker Tracker Favs on the right sidebar is a decent place to start.

Considering a bulk of my blogging solidified during last year’s A to Z, an event in which being brief is encouraged, I’m sure I had many visitors stop by and leave after seeing a wall of text.

Jak Stats

You may say I'm a dreamer...

I'm just a Dreamer who would love nothing more than to write for a living. Preferably fiction short stories/novels, but beggars can't be choosers, can they?

After coming off a 12 year writer's block in 2012 (Thanks to NaNoWriMo), I am attempting my hand at some blogging. The goal being to just remain consistent; to write a little each day, if possible. I post about one entry a week on each blog (1 journal based/1 fiction based/more to come).

Nothing published, just a jumbled concoction of ideas/themes/scenes/dreams that have existed in my head since being a kid. It would be nice to finally be able to pull them out, and make room for more.

So follow along, comment/discuss, share a tale or three. I am hoping to make new connections along this journey!